Milton M. Holland

Milton M. Holland
Sergeant Major Milton M. Holland
Birth name	Milton Murray Holland
Born	August 1, 1844 Austin, Texas
Died	May 15, 1910 (aged 65)
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1862 - 1865
Rank	Sergeant Major
Unit	5th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War *Battle of Chaffin's Farm
Awards	Medal of Honor
Other work	Founder and president, Alpha Insurance Company

Milton Murray Holland (August 1, 1844 – May 15, 1910) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.

Biography

This photograph was probably taken earlier, in 1863 or 1864, than the other one with the medals.

Holland was born as the son of Bird Holland, a white slaveowner (killed in action at the Battle of Mansfield) and an African-American slave.^[1] He joined the Army from Athens, Ohio. At the Athens County Fairgrounds he signed to the recruitment rolls 149 young black men and raised what was to become Company C of the 5th United States Colored Infantry.^[2] He was serving as a Sergeant Major (a temporary assignment) in the 5th USCI when his unit participated in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm on September 29, 1864 in Virginia. Three days before the end of the war, on April 6, 1865, he was issued the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chaffin's Farm. He left the army in September 1865.^[3]

Holland's wife was Virginia W. Dickey. Milton Holland died from a heart attack at the age of 65 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia.

This photo of Holland appears to have been taken later than the other wartime one. The large medal he's wearing could by the Medal of Honor, which would place this photo in 1865, when he was awarded the medal.

Medal of Honor citation

• Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 5th U.S. Colored Troops.
• Place and date: At Chaffin's Farm, Virginia, September 29, 1864.
• Entered service at: Athens, Ohio.
• Born: 1844, Austin, Texas.
• Date of issue: April 6, 1865.

Citation:

Took command of Company C, after all the officers had been killed or wounded, and gallantly led it.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L
• List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
• Melvin Claxton and Mark Puls, Uncommon valor : a story of race, patriotism, and glory in the final battles of the Civil War, (Wiley, 2006) (ISBN 0471468231)

References

1. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13476226
2. From the Virginia Plantation to the National Capitol, by John Mercer Langston, pp 212-217
3. African American Faces of the Civil War: An Album, by Ronald S. Coddington, pp 153-156

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

• "Milton M. Holland". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
• "Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A-L)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 2005-04-27. Retrieved 2007-01-03.